Inflatable boat



Feb. 21), 1945. PATTEN 2,370,069

INFLATABLE BOAT Filed July 23, 1943 INVENTOR. Ffiffl F. P// fff/l ATTORNEY is out of the water.

Patented Feb. 20, 1945 INFLATABLE BOAT Fred F. Patten, Woonsocket, B. 1., assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y.. a corporation of New Jersey Application July 23, 1943, Serial No. 495,819

7 Claim.

This invention relates to improved collamible boats and particularly to such boats having inflatable keels secured to the bottom of the boat.

Heretofore inflatable boats have been provided with keels constructed of fabric reinforced with rigid materials, such as struts of wood encased in pockets in the fabric. Keels of such prior construction do not provide the desired rigidity to the bottom of the boat because the reinforcing materials were made in sections and hinged together so that the keel could be folded. Furthermore, the rigid struts used in combination with the canvas presents a problem in collapsing and folding the boats into small packages, which may result in the tearing of the fabric and increasing the size of the folded boat.

The inflatable boat embodying the present invention is provided with an inflatable flexible keel, which is attached to the bottom of the boat. When the keel is deflated, it occupies a smaller space and is lighter than prior keels of the same effective size constructed of rigid materials. These advantageous characteristics facilitate the storage and transportation of the boat when it When the keel is inflated and is in the water, the inflated keel stiifens the boat, and thereby makes the boat easier to maneuver due to the decrease of the flow-resistance of the water against it and of any side slip of which there is a tendency to the latter when a sail and/or rudder is used. The inflatable keel also increases the buoyancy of the boat.

The foregoing and other objects of this invention will be more clearly understood by referring to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. i is a plan view of the boat embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal side view of the boat shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the boat taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. d is an enlarged part of the view shown in Fig. 3.

Except as otherwise mentioned, the boat It illustrated in the drawings is made of flexible air impervious material, such as rubber or other air impervious synthetic coatings on canvas, and the parts are adhered together by the usual practice. The boat it is provided with a buoyant periphery ii comprising one or more inflatable tubular chambers it enclosed in walls or tubes it. A bottom it is secured to the buoyant periphcry 68 by cementing the bottom thereto in the manner.

As shown in the drawing, a tapering inflatable keel i5 is secured to the bottom H of the boat Ill. The keel I5 comprises an inflatable tube It which extends from the stem of the periphery II to the bow, and is cemented to the bottom ll of the boat along its longitudinal center line l1 (Fig. 1). The union between the bottom It and the tube I6 is reinforced by pairs of fabric hinges l8 extending longitudinally along each side of the tube It and having their wings I! and 20, respectively,

cemented to the bottom I4 and the tube It. Rig- I idity is imparted to the inflatable tube It and the union between the tube l8 and the bottom I! is further reinforced by a longitudinally extending fabric side stay 2|. The stay 2| embraces and is cemented to the tube It, and has its longitudinal edges 22 cemented to the bottom ll of the boat. The union of the edges 22 with the bottom I! is further reinforced by fabric hinges 23 having their wings cemented respectively to the bottom llandthestayfl.

Before applying the side stay 2| to the tube [6 a heavy longitudinal strip of fabric 24is cemented in a longitudinal told 25 in the side stay. The side stay 2| is then cemented to the tube. ll so that the fold 25 extends along the bottom of the tube l6 and forms a longitudinal fin 28 extending along the bottom of the keel, as shown in Fig. 2. The side stay 2| is provided with vent openings 21 on each side of the .tube It adjacent to th bottom ll so as to vent the spaces 28 between the tube and the stay. The purpose of venting this space is to prevent air from bein trapped in the spaces 28, so that the stay and the tube may be folded compactly. The vent openings 21 also admit water to the spaces 2%, which acts as a ballast.

Means is provided for inflating the tube it through a valve 29 which extends through the bottom IE or the boat and into the interior of the keel tube it. The valve is constructed so that the usual hand pump or CO2 bottle may be attached thereto for the purpose of inflating the tube through the bottom N of the boat It.

The remaining portion of the boat It may be of the usual construction, wherein the peripheral tube, or tubes l3 are made of fabric coated with natural rubber or other synthetic air impervious coating materials, and may be inflated through one or more valves similar to the valve 29. The boat is provided with an anchorage 30 in its bow 3| for securing a wooden mast 32 therein, to which a sail is adapted to be attached. The anchorage 30 comprises an upper fabric bracket 33 and a lower-socket 34, cemented respectively to the peripheral tube It and the bottom ll of the boat. A number of anchoring tabs 35 is cemented to the peripheral tube It for the purpose of bracing the sail mast 32 with guy ropes (not shown) secured to the mast 32 and the tabs 35. The usual oar locks 36 and rudder holder 31 are anchored to the tubes I3. The boat is also provided with inflatable canvas seats 38 which are anchored to the peripheral tubes I3 at each end.

The preferred form of this invention has been described more or less in detail herein. It will be understood that the details may be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. An inflatable boat having a flat canvas bottom, 9. keel secured to the outside of said bottom, said keel comprising an inflatable fabric tube having its ends tapering from its intermediate portion and merging into the contour of the bottom portion of the boat at the ends thereof.

2. An inflatable canvas boat comprising an inflatable periphery, a flexible bottom secured to the inflatable periphery, an inflatable keel secured to the outside of said bottom, and means extending through said bottom and into said keel for inflating same.

3. An inflatable boat comprising an inflatable periphery, a flexible bottom secured to said perip'nery, an inflatable fabric keel including an inflatable tube extending longitudinally of said bottom and cemented thereto, a side stay embracing and cemented to said tube, and the edges of said side stay being secured to said bottom on each side of said tube.

4. An inflatable boat comprising an inflatable periphery, a flexible bottom secured to said periphery, an inflatable fabric keel comprising an inflatable fabric tube extending longitudinally of said bottom and cemented thereto, fabric hinges extending along each side of said tube and having one wing of each hinge cemented to said bottom and the other wing cemented to said tube, a side stay embracing and cemented to said tube, and the edges of said side stay being cemented to said bottom on each side of said tube.

5. An inflatable boat comprising a buoyant periphery, a flexible bottom secured to said periphery, an inflatable fabric keel secured to said bottom, said keel being reinforced by a longitudinal side stay embracing said keel and having its edges secured to said bottom on each side of said keel, and a fln extending along the bottom of said keel.

6. An inflatable collapsible boat comprising a buoyant periphery, a flexible bottom secured to said periphery. a keel including an inflatable tube secured to said bottom, said tube being reinforced by a side stay embracing said tube and having its edges secured to said bottom, a fin extending along the bottom of said tube and said fln comprising a longitudinal fold in said side stay.

7. An inflatable boat having a buoyant periphery, a. flexible bottom secured to said periphery, an inflatable keel extending longitudinally along the central portion of said bottom, said keel comprising an inflatable fabric tube secured to said bottom, a side stay for reinforcing said tube, said side stay being cemented to said tube and having its longitudinal edges cemented to the bottom of said boat on each side of said tube, and said side stay having openings formed therein adjacent to said bottom so as to vent the space between said side stay and said tube adjacent to said bottom.

FRED F. PATI'EN. 

